For some people, picking colors for canvas paintings is very intuitive. For others, it can feel like a shot in the dark. Painting may not be rocket science, but there is definitely a science to what our eyes are naturally attracted to. If you don't feel confident selecting colors for your paintings, we have good news for you! There are four types of easy-to-learn color schemes that can make this process incredibly simple. All four of them are covered in our FREE How to Choose a Background Color course, as well as our comprehensive Foundations Studies course. Today, we're going to cover the simplest of the four color schemes: complementary colors. The reason that this is the easiest color palette to create is that you are simply selecting opposite colors on a color wheel.
Now that you understand the concept, how do you use it? Let's put this into practice by showing some examples in paintings!
In this case, you would more than likely also want to adjust the background color from purple to something that will make the red stand out more. If you don't want to use green as the complement to red in this case, check out How to Choose a Background Color for other color palettes that would work well! Below you'll see two examples of butterfly paintings that we made using our Butterfly Canvas Painting Kit. In one, the artist wanted the butterfly to be yellow, so they chose to make the flowers purple to complement the yellow. In the other, the artist chose orange for the butterfly, so blue was the natural choice! As you can see, this is a super easy method for choosing two colors that look great together. Want to get more in-depth and advanced with your color theory skills? Check out our Foundations Studies courses, which each include around 10 video art lessons and everything you'll need to do several exercises and complete paintings!
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As beloved painter Bob Ross used to say, "We don't make mistakes; we just have happy accidents." Here at The Sketching Pad, we firmly believe that to be true. Making mistakes in painting gives you a chance to learn something new. Sometimes, you learn to fix your mistake and reset. Sometimes, you like what you accidentally did more than you liked what you intended to do!
We use acrylic paint for all of our canvas painting kits here at The Sketching Pad, because it's a fantastic paint for beginning canvas painters. There are a lot of reasons to love acrylic paint. It dries quickly, goes on smoothly, and is easy to clean up.
In most cases, just let the accident dry, and paint right over it with the correct color! If you try to fix it while it's still wet, you're just going to keep smearing your painting until it's a muddy mess. But letting it dry or drying it with a hair dryer will mean you can add another corrective layer of paint - no smudges involved!
It really is that simple! Always let mistakes dry completely before trying to cover them, and when necessary, use a layer of white to help cover darker colors. If you do that, there's absolutely nothing you can't fix when painting with acrylics. When you're a canvas painting beginner, you should expect to make mistakes and layer your paint until you get it exactly the way you like it. That's just part of painting! Embrace the process, and enjoy the peace of mind you get from knowing that absolutely anything can be fixed until you love your masterpiece.
WOULD IT HELP YOU TO SEE THIS PROCESS STEP-BY-STEP IN A VIDEO?
We'd love to send you access to a video for this, along with all of our other acrylic painting tips and techniques videos. Access to our video library is completely FREE!
KEEP LEARNING & KEEP CREATING!All
Have you seen the Barbie movie yet? Between our almost all-female team here at The Sketching Pad, the ladies who come into the studio to paint with us, and the girls we teach in classes, the Barbie buzz is really something! Whether you found the storyline to be moving, or you just like sparkles, throwing a Barbie Painting Party is a great excuse for some girl time. We've released a Barbie Canvas Painting Kit to ensure that the painting part of your party is covered. Next, we gathered all the best Barbie-themed snacks and decorations to make your party planning a breeze!
One thing that's included with the Barbie Canvas Painting Kit is glitter paint! We hear you - glitter can be a huge mess in your house when you use it for craft projects. But the glitter we include in this kit is a gel that you brush on just like the rest of the paint, so you won't be finding glitter in your carpet for months. It's practically mess-free!
Be sure to add into the invitation that they'll get to paint during your party - it'll make them even more excited!
Want more tips on how to prepare your home for your party and keep messes to a minimum? Check out our post 3 HACKS TO A MESS-FREE PAINTING PARTY.
Looking for more ideas on setting up your painting activity and decorations? We'd love to send you our FREE guide: Every Step to the Perfect Painting Party. It lays out everything you'll need to prepare for your party, all of the supplies you'll need, and so much more!
Because it typically takes a couple of hours to paint a canvas, you don't have to add a lot of activities to your party. The painting is the activity! That said, if you want to add in another activity, consider a quick Barbie-themed game or something that doesn't take a lot of time.
Want more info on every little detail for the perfect painting party? We'll explain how to prep your house, what to buy, and even give you printables for your guests!
We want to give you three simple steps to create a fun, stress-free experience and show how simple creating mosaics can be! With minimal effort, you'll find yourself growing in confidence in your mosaic abilities. Let's jump in!
Be sure that you're selecting tiles that are either ceramic or glass. Plastic tiles or poor-quality tiles won't hold up to regular use, and you want your project to last. Check out our glass and ceramic tiles that are cut into shapes prior to finishing, which makes the edges smooth, rather than sharp! These are awesome when you're working on a project with kids, or when you don't want to have to stress about cutting yourself on glass shards!
Unsanded grout is the best choice for a nice and smooth grout finish for your project. This is easy to pick up at your local hardware store!
For a detailed explanation of all of the supplies you'll need, be sure to download our free mosaic guide! It includes a printable supply checklist.
Would you like a more thorough explanation of the grouting process, more tips, and a video tutorial? Our Guide to an Absolutely Stunning Mosaic includes all of those things!
MOSAIC KITS
Gathering all of the many supplies you'll need to get started with a mosaic hobby can be a challenge. That's why we've created mosaic kits that include everything you'll need. You can place one order and have everything you'll need to create your masterpiece arrive on your doorstep! With lots of projects to choose from, you can create one project after another with ease.
Whether you're having an at-home painting party for adults or for kids, you want to make sure that your party is as mess-free as possible. Many people assume that because acrylic paint is water-based, it's washable. But that's just not the case! Acrylic paint dries into a hard plastic that is nearly impossible to remove from fabric furniture and a challenge to remove from clothes. So how can we protect your home and your guests from the mess? It's not as challenging as you might think! Let's cover three hacks to make sure that you get all the creative fun and none of the mess during your painting party.
Using easels for your canvases is another way to reduce mess. It won't prevent spills completely, but it'll keep the majority of the paint on the canvas, rather than on the table.
We prefer using disposable plastic aprons, because they are easy to toss in the trash at the end of the party. They also don't have to be washed in between parties in order to be sanitary. That said, there are some adorable, customizable options for fabric aprons on Etsy that can make your party feel extra special!
Baby wipes are recommended, because unlike other types that contain harsh cleaning products, they are nontoxic and can be used on your guests as well as on your furniture.
Oftentimes, it's easy to choose WHAT you want to paint, but deciding what colors look good with it isn't quite as simple! You know you want to paint the pretty sunflowers in your garden, your family pet, or a sailboat you snapped a photo of on vacation. But when it's time to paint the background of your masterpiece, choosing just the right color feels more like a shot in the dark.
In three short videos, you'll learn...
We believe that art is for EVERYONE, not just those who were born with flawless intuition. You deserve to feel great about your paintings, whether you're a canvas painting beginner or you've been doing this for years!
Acrylic paint that's already dried can be much more difficult to remove, but that doesn't make it impossible. We've tested five different products to see what would give the best results. It'll take a little bit of elbow grease, but saving your favorite pair of jeans will be worth it!
Please note: These methods work best for articles of clothing that are non-delicate and can go in a normal wash cycle. For specialty items, get those to a dry cleaner right away! These products may damage certain fabrics. MURPHY WOOD CLEANER
OXICLEAN STAIN REMOVER
KLEAN STRIP BRUSH CLEANER
In order to make sure it soaked in enough without drying out too quickly, we also applied the product to a cotton ball and left that on the stain for a few minutes. Because this product has strong fumes, we recommend that you wash your jeans separately from any of your other clothes. It may take two washes to get the strong solvent smell out.
NAIL POLISH REMOVER
DAWN ULTRA
AFTER WASHING
After washing your items, you want to check the stain before you put the clothing into the dryer. If the stain is still there and you dry it, you'll set it into the fabric even worse. Still see a little paint residue? Try the process again, and then rewash.
AND THE WINNER IS...
Are you ready to see which product worked best for removing acrylic paint from clothes?
Murphy Wood Cleaner removed the paint almost without a trace! This product is 99% naturally derived, so that makes it a great option for a cleaner that works well without the harsh chemicals contained in the other products. For that reason, we're calling this one the winner! Klean Strip Brush Cleaner also did a great job removing the majority of the acrylic paint from clothes. Because it is such a harsh solvent with strong fumes, this one is in second place. When the results are the same, we'd always recommend the more natural alternative. OxiClean Stain Spray removed some of the paint, but as you can see above, a good bit of it is still there. This product works really well when you're able to spray it on when the paint is still wet, but when you're trying to remove acrylic paint that has dried, it doesn't quite do the trick. Nail polish remover smeared the paint into the fibers of the jeans, making it impossible to get the rest of the way out. We wouldn't recommend this option! Dawn Ultra didn't do much to remove the stains at all. Again, this product is awesome for greasy stains, but when it comes to the hard plastic stains of acrylic paint, it isn't the way to go. The next time you're painting canvases and spill some acrylic paint on your jeans or favorite top, you'll be prepared! Whenever possible, rinse the clothing out and throw it into the washer before it has a chance to dry. But when you don't see the stain until the paint is dried, you now know exactly how to remove acrylic paint from clothes! WANT MORE CANVAS PAINTING TIPS AND TRICKS?
Get free access to our library of video tutorials and canvas painting tips!
STEP 1: PICK A DATE & INVITE FRIENDS
Pick a date and time that works well for you, and rest assured that your home is the perfect painting party venue. We recommend that you allow around an hour to paint if you are painting small canvases (around 8"x10") or two hours to paint if you're painting canvases closer to 16"x20". Most people underestimate how long the painting will take, so be sure that you're allowing enough time.
Want more info on preparing your home and scheduling your party in the best possible way? Our Painting Party Guide lays it all out for you!
When you're ready to send invitations, be sure to check out the gorgeous options on Etsy! There are so many nice ones that you can edit and send in a matter of minutes.
STEP 2: ORDER YOUR CANVAS PAINTING KITS
STEP 3: TAKE YOUR PARTY TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH DECORATIONS!
Want more info on every little detail for the perfect painting party? We'll explain how to prep your house, what to buy, and even give you printables for your guests!
For many people, painting is fun and relaxing, but drawing is stressful and difficult. Of course, there are sketching naturals out there, but most acrylic painting beginners struggle when it comes to drawing. The skills required to do a nice painting are much quicker and easier to pick up than the skills required to do a sketch that is correctly sized and proportioned.
Pro Tip: If your canvas is larger than you can print on your home printer, simply take the file to a print shop, and they'll be happy to print a larger version for you!
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS TECHNIQUE IN ACTION?
We would be happy to email you a free video to make this technique even clearer! You'll also receive access to a whole library of canvas painting tips and video tutorials.
Planning an at-home painting party should be fun - not stressful! There are so many factors to consider, and if you aren't an artist, you may worry that you won't know how to begin. Painting beginners often feel intimidated by a blank canvas. Let's go over the three simple steps to any painting, so you can instill confidence in your party guests!
GUIDE YOUR GUESTS THROUGH THEIR PAINTINGS WITH A VIDEO!
Would you like more info on how to make your painting party run perfectly? We'll send you our free, detailed guide for throwing the perfect painting party!
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hey there!The Sketching Pad has been helping people just like you have fun and stress-free painting experiences for over a decade. Whether we're helping people create masterpieces in person in our studio, or we're guiding people who are painting at home through our painting kits and video tutorials, we are passionate about helping people see that everyone can be an artist with the right tools and guidance! This FREE Acrylic Painting Guide includes:
You'll learn...
This FREE course includes...
You'll learn...
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